The Power of Potential

3 minutes

Modern corporate leadership is an intense, pressurised state of being. Executives are forced to balance the books with external factors, poor global economic performance and advancing competitors.

Leaders respond to pressure in two ways. The first is to soak up the pressure and take on more personal responsibility. This sort of corporate martyrdom is often seen as being a part of the executive territory, but these false heroics are neither practical nor sustainable.

The second response is total collapse as a result of burn out, which is not only costly on a financial level, but also devastating to the individual.

To excel, leaders need a new response to corporate pressure. True leadership is about recognising your own strengths and shortcomings, and being able to admit when you need help.

Unfortunately, very few modern executives have internalised this thinking. However, the CEO of a large manufacturing operation in South Africa has taken a more progressive view on his own performance.

Leading by Example

He reached out to our team with two goals. Firstly, he needed to shake the lingering effect of an inherited management style. And secondly, he needed a way to unlock the potential of his people.

Our analytics explored the way his leaders are perceived by the broader employee community to understand exactly where they can improve. These crucial insights were then given back to the leadership team at a conference in Johannesburg.

Watching the nerves in the room as people go through their personal analysis is always interesting. People react very differently to having their strengths and growth areas exposed. The CEO again took the ideal approach and allowed us to go through his own information in front of his team. This was an intimate experience indicative of his commitment to vulnerability.

As the group went through their collective and individual strengths and areas for growth, it was possible to see them commit to unlocking their own potential. Thanks to the vision of their leader, they now have the tools that they need to do so.